Insomnia (2002)
Genre: Thriller / Drama
Duration: 118 minuten
Country:
United States / Canada
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Stars: Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank
IMDb score:
7,2 (325.337)
Releasedate: 24 May 2002
Insomnia plot
"A tough cop. A brilliant killer. An unspeakable crime."
Haunted by an Internal Affairs investigation into dark cases from his past, police detective Will Dormer is sent to a small Alaskan town to investigate the murder of a teenage girl. The local police look up to him, but all the worries make it difficult for Dormer to live up to those expectations, especially if the midnight sun also makes him suffer more and more from insomnia. Trying to do his job as well as possible, he sets a trap for the killer, but in the confusion and thick fog, the overtired cop makes a cardinal mistake.
Actors and actresses
Will Dormer
Walter Finch
Ellie Burr
Rachel Clement
Hap Eckhart
Fred Duggar
Chief Nyback
Kay Connell
Francis
Farrell
Reviews & comments
tbouwh
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- 5729 messages
- 5225 votes
Insomnia seems to be in two minds; especially at the beginning, the contours of a Twin Peaks-esque murder mystery are clearly visible. Later, the film shifts more and more towards Dormer's central dilemma (fairness or justice?). In terms of atmosphere and locations, it's more than good, but the script can count on my approval less. Then clumsy, then incoherent, then unbelievable; surely this will be the weakest script for a Nolan film. Fortunately, the pacing is fine. Al Pacino and Robin Williams never fall through the bottom line, but deserved better written characters; Hilary Swank, on the other hand, pretty much personifies the low point of the film. In the end still a sufficient, but perhaps the least Nolan. Paradoxically, I now only have to see Following .
Translated from Dutch · View original
filmfan0511
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- 1019 messages
- 1045 votes
Insomnia is a rock solid crime thriller, which in fact does little wrong, but also nothing above average good. It's all pretty standard and conventional, both camera work and story as the final denouement. Nevertheless, it is refreshing that Nolan for once does not concern himself with playing with time(lines) unnecessarily, something that certainly does not work as smartly as he seems to think in his later films (Dunkirk, Tenet). but pays attention to telling a compelling story. It's also a nice choice that the focus of the film is not on the murder mystery, but on the psychology and the inner demons of the characters. Al Pacino plays convincingly, although he manages to put down the insomnia condition a little less well towards the end, and Robin Williams works well as the counterpart. Not a brilliant performance, but just like the quality of the film itself; rock solid. Hilary Swank's role could not possibly be more clichéd, but her presence is never unpleasant.
The images of the northern Alaskan landscapes are beautiful and atmospheric. Cinematically there are also some very nice shots, the scenes in the fog come to mind for example. Nolan is still growing as a director here, that's for sure, but you can't really fault this. This is of course also because many safe choices are made (for example, with the insomnia itself, and the hallucinations that can result from this, you could have done so much more with it..). Nevertheless, I'd love it if Nolan returned after Tenet to a smaller-scale project like this one, or the great Memento. Despite the fairly straightforward and simple course of Insomnia, this is so much more fun to watch than the bombastic and unjustifiably pretentious Tenet. 3.5*.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Shadowed
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- 9905 messages
- 5930 votes
Early Nolan.
It's kind of hard to imagine that directors like Nolan made this when you look at what they're doing right now. Where Nolan now manages to collect mega budgets to put together complex stories, he used to decide to hold back a bit more, making Insomnia more of a psychological game.
A film that completely relies on the acting of Pacino and Williams, who keep their lives in the film for a long time. Anyway, this is another really good role for Pacino. A little less expressive, a little more restrained and sincere. I couldn't have imagined that he would be able to hold his own in those roles, but he does. Nevertheless, it is mainly the character itself that does not come out very well in combination with the story, which also makes it somewhat counteracted.
Insomnia has the usual elements such as drama, mystery and thriller, although the latter is rare. The location does exude an exciting atmosphere, but Nolan does not succeed in presenting just a single scene effectively. The camera work is safe, the interpretation too easy. The focus is simply never taken to present a scene really calmly and effectively exciting.
Once the character of Williams is brought forward a little more, the brewery comes to life. The problem is that it takes quite a while before he really gets into it. Everything before that, the more mysterious part, is very boring. Regularly it has cost me quite a bit of effort to keep my head on the lesson. Luckily the story isn't as smart as the film itself thinks it is, otherwise this would have been unbearable.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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